Diatom test of VSSUT student Chinmayee Priyadarshini reveals cause of her death

Bhubaneswar: The diatom test of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) student Chinmayee Priyadarshini Sahu has confirmed that she had died due to drowning.

Earlier, her postmortem report had also suggested that Chinmayee’s death was a case of drowning, sources said.

“There was no evidence of any sexual assault on the deceased girl. We are waiting for the viscera report to know further detail on the case. We will try to find out whether someone had pushed the girl into the water. Our officials are probing the circumstances that led to her death,” said Sambalpur SP B Gangadhar today.

Notably, Chinmayee, a resident of Madanpur in Kalahandi district, had gone to VSSUT at Burla in Sambalpur district to receive her degree certificate during convocation ceremony on February 28. Later, she went to the power channel bridge of Hirakud dam with her friend in the evening.

She went missing after falling into the power channel. On being informed, police and Fire Services personnel rushed to the spot and initiated a search operation. Her body was found from the power channel the next day.

Her family members alleged that she had been murdered.

The police had registered a case under Sections 302,201 and 34 of the IPC against Chinmayee’s friends Pritiman Dey and Manas Tudu.

The police had detained Pritiman and Manas for questioning in connection with the incident.

It is worth mentioning here that diatom test is based on the principle that diatoms can be detected in the organs of a drowned victim if he/she aspirated diatom-rich water into the lungs before death. Diatoms are unicellular, photosynthetic and autotrophic organisms that live both fresh and saltwater.